Important Things to Know about Adverbs
| Comparative degree of adverbs | ly adverbs | enough | negatives | |
| adverbs in numbered lists | too | viewpoint | relative adverbs | Back to Adverbs |
1. Adverbs have comparative and superlative forms, just as adjectives do. They are formed the same way: by adding er for the comparative and est for the superlative.
More and most, less and least are also used to show degree with adverbs, just as they are with adjectives:
Some actors give more skillfully-crafted performances than others do.
He worked less quickly than some of his co-workers, but he got the job done.
She was voted the least likely to succeed in her class.
Martin makes the most heavenly quesadillas!
As _____as also shows comparison and degree:
2. Some adverbs are easy to identify because they end in ly, but not all words ending in ly are adverbs. The best way to identify an adverb is to read the sentence carefully to see which words could be adverbs. Then prove it by seeing if those words show the conditions mentioned above. Be careful! Adverbs can be found in various places in a sentence. They are not like adjectives, which generally come before the word they are describing. At times, an adjective may be “turned into" an adverb by adding an ly ending. See why it can be confusing? (See more on forming ly adverbs See also Adjective or Adverb)
Christine sat quietly waiting for the movie to begin. (quietly describes in what manner or how Chris sat. quietly is an adverb.)
Inspector Katchem warned the crowd to behave more courteously. (The adverb more modifies the adverb courteously, showing the degree of courtesy. The adverb courteously modifies the infinitive verb to behave, showing the degree of behavior.)
Fortunately, the check arrived in time for us to make our rent payment. (The adverb Fortunately modifies the entire sentence. )
The friendly salesclerk helped Aunt Tilly take her parcels to the car. (Did you notice this one? Friendly is an ly word, but it is not an adverb. Friendly is an adjective describing the salesclerk.)
The new spring fashions were lovely. (lovely is an adjective acting as a subject complement--describing 'fashions'.)
Some adverbs have both an ly form as well as a form that has no ly ending. Sometimes these forms have a different meaning.
late/lately slow/slowly sharp/sharply quick/quickly wrong/wrongly
In very casual speaking, you will hear people use an adverb without saying the ly ending, when it really should have it:
I need a new dress bad. (The correct word is badly.)
You are driving too slow! (The correct word is slowly.)
Note: As you continue to learn English, be careful about which people you want to imitate! When you hear native speakers who speak non-standard English, you make think they sound cool, when in fact a person who usually speaks non-standard English sounds very poorly educated to an American who speaks Standard English well. You can't apply for a job if you sound cool. It's important that you sound intelligent!
3. Adverbs showing viewpoint usually follow a noun, but are related to the adjective before the noun.
Buying a used car from a stranger would be a bad deal, usually.
Swimming is a good exercise, generally.
4. Enough and not enough are generally used after the word they are modifying if they are being used as adverbs. Notice that an infinitive (to reach, to defend, to offset) follows these adverbs.
When enough and not enough are used as adjectives, they generally come before the noun.
Do you have enough food?
Yes, thank you, but not enough coffee.
5. Negatives (not, no, neither, nor, never, nowhere) are in most cases incorporated within the verb, or come before it:
I never sang for my father.
Fanny has not been of much help in class lately.
These negative words are adverbs that aren't part of the verb. There are other adverbs that can indicate negative meaning even though they aren't of the no, not, etc. group.
Annie seldom talks on the microphone. In fact, she scarcely says a word.
John rarely speaks, either.
Constance hardly knows what to do with them.
We barely had time to say goodbye.
She cared little for what others thought of her.
In negative statements, and negative questions with not, usually any adverb follows not.
She does not usually act so silly.
Does she not usually act more refined?
If the verb is a contraction ending in n't, the adverb usually follows the subject.
She usually doesn't act so silly.
Doesn't she usually act more refined?
Double negatives are never correct to use in Standard English.
I don't know nothing.
We never did nothing to him.
To correct a double negative, change or take out all but one of the negative words.
I don't know anything.
We did nothing to him.
We never did anything to him.
6. When too is before an adjective or another adverb, it indicates an excess of:
He talks too much.
Sam worked too hard and strained his back.
Katrina slept too long and was late for work.
Sometimes, too is followed by an infinitive: He drives too recklessly to be safe.
Too may also be followed by a prepositional phrase: We have driven too far for anyone to find us now.
When too is after the adverb, it generally means also or in addition to, and should be set off with a comma.
John looks handsome. He looks mischievous, too.
Loretta had some ice cream with her cake. Jerry had some, too.
The relative adverbs are sometimes omitted when they are redundant.
In a paragraph of text, it can get cumbersome to list more than 3 items. If you have a longer list, it is better to use a vertical format:
1.
2.
3.
4.
and so on.
If you have a short list that must be written in text form, avoid the common error of using adverbs (firstly, secondly, thirdly, etc.) to designate items. Instead, use first, second, third. Using the adverbial form for numbers past the number three (third) makes your writing confusing, and sounds very strange to the American ear.